


Best Friends

by im_fairly_witty



Series: Coco Teacher!AU [5]
Category: Coco (2017)
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, Funeral, Gen, Toxic friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 18:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13793724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/im_fairly_witty/pseuds/im_fairly_witty
Summary: Even though Hector didn't have siblings, he's always had two hermanos he could depend on: one a best friend, the other a trusted cousin.But his relationships with Ernesto and Enrique have always pulled him in separate directions, one towards fame and glory, the other to family and responsibility.[This is a flashback chapter takes place when Hector is 18, post high school, pre-university. It ties into the timeline of "Two Cokes," a different chapter here in the teacher au.]





	Best Friends

Héctor unlocked the back door as quietly as he could one-handed. Without Ernesto to give him a ride home he’d had to walk all the back from town in the chill night. Yet another layer of insult to that night’s injury.

His arm hurt way more than Ernesto had said it would, he had a headache, and it was at least three in the morning. He ducked into the dark kitchen and closed the door behind him. All Héctor could think was how desperately he did NOT need Tia Elena to catch him sneaking in this late after curfew.

“Good to see you’re alive.”

Héctor’s stomach jolted. He turned to see a figure sitting at the table in the dark kitchen, dimly illuminated by a lamp in the front room.

“I won’t be if you spook me like that, Quique.” Héctor whispered, tucking his left arm behind him. “What’s your problem?”

“What were you and Ernesto up to tonight?” Enrique asked, reaching back behind him to flip on the lights. “Breaking into another abandoned gas station?”

“I was twelve, that was one time.” Héctor blinked and squinted against the kitchen lights, trying to look as casual as possible as he scooted past the counter. He would have to pass Enrique to get out of the kitchen. “I wasn’t even with Ernesto tonight anyway.”

“Have a seat.” Enrique said, waving to the empty chair pulled out from the table across from him.

“What? No, I’m really tired Quique, I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

“I’ve been waiting for hours Héctor,” Enrique said flatly, keeping eye contact. “Trust me, I know how late it is. I wanted to talk to you while everyone is asleep.”

Héctor chewed his lip, hesitating. What he really wanted to do was find some ibuprofen and pass out for the night, but he couldn’t just leave after having such a piece of cryptic bait dropped in front of him.

He and Enrique had always been as close as brothers, Héctor’s favorite primo by far, but ever since Enrique had gotten married a year and a half ago, they hadn’t been able to spend nearly as much time together.

“Sit.” Enrique said, the barest hint of Tia Elena creeping into his voice.

Whatever he wanted to talk about had to be important.

It was just at  _such a bad time._

Héctor sat down roughly on the chair, partly to communicate his annoyance, partly to distract from him hiding his arm out of sight under the table.

“So you’re applying to universities.” Enrique said, folding his arms on the table and leaning forward.

Great. His favorite subject.

“I guess.” Héctor said, looking moodily at a patch of wall.

“You guess?”

“It’s just so everyone will leave me alone.” Héctor lied. “It doesn’t mean I’m going to go.”

“Oh yeah? And what does Ernesto think about that?”

Héctor glanced at Enrique. He hadn’t told anyone about the fight he’d had with Ernesto last week, when Héctor had suggested that maybe college wouldn’t be as bad as Ernesto said it was. That maybe it could be a good idea for Héctor to get his degree after all.

Ernesto had gotten very upset.

“Why do you care?” Héctor said, hating the words as they came out of his mouth, but feeling trapped.

“Because I love you Héctor,” Enrique said, unruffled, “and I know that you’re making some hard choices right now.”

Héctor stopped picking at the plastic wrap on his arm under the table and looked up.

“Héctor, I know you get a lot of grief from everyone,” Enrique said, “but I know that you’re a good kid, and I trust you.”

Héctor’s ears burned a little at that.

“Which is why I want to make you a godfather.” Enrique said.

“Qué?”

“I’ve been thinking.” Enrique said, looking at his hands on the table, “Luisa and I are going to start trying to have kids soon, if everything goes well you’ll be a tio in a year or so. I’ve been talking it over with Luisa and we want to make you the godparent of our first child, whenever it is they’re born.”

“But…” Héctor’s head spun.  _Him_  a godparent? “I, I don’t have a job, I can’t take care of a kid.”

“You’ve got plenty of time.” Enrique chuckled, “Besides, it’s not like you’ll actually be raising them. I do think you’re ready for a little extra responsibility in your life though, which is why I’m offering.”

Héctor sunk a little lower into his chair, knowing he was probably the least responsible person in the world at that exact moment.

“I know this is a lot to ask,” Enrique said, [action] “and it’s up to you whether you want to or not. You’ve got plenty of time to decide. But you’re at a crossroads right now, Héctor. I know you think you’ve got things figured out, but you’ve got to remember that there are people in your future that are depending on you. Not just friends in the present. And besides, I-”

Héctor stiffened as Enrique’s gaze caught in the way he was awkwardly holding his arm.

“Is something wrong with your arm?”Enrique’s eyes narrowed.

“No.” Héctor lied, holding it even more stiffly now.

“Show me.” Enrique said, moving to stand.

“No.” Héctor said, shifting away from him in his seat.

Enrique stopped in a half-standing position, his eyes getting wide with realization. “You did not.”

Héctor blushed, hating himself immensely.

“Show me.” Enrique demanded.

Héctor died a little inside as he slowly brought his arm up onto the table. His left forearm was wrapped in a layer of taped plastic wrap, clearly visible beneath the wrap was a fresh black ink tattoo of a skull guitar. No color, no shading, the Aztec type linework and skull headboard pattern grinned up at both of them.

He and Ernesto had been planning the design for months, matching tattoos for when Héctor finally graduated, to celebrate the beginning of their careers as successful musicians together.

But that had been before their fight last week. They’d already secretly set up an appointment with the tattoo artist by then, and Ernesto had assured Héctor that afternoon that he was just going to be a little late, to go ahead and get his first.

But Ernesto had never shown up.

“And how much did that cost you?” Enrique said, sounding very tired.

“A lot.” Héctor said, wishing he could pull a sleeve over his aching arm. “But it was all my money, I didn’t take any from anyone, promise. Don’t tell Tia Elena.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t dream of getting involved in that particular conversation, that’ll be all you hermano.” Enrique said, catching Héctor off guard with an amused smile.

Héctor had been bracing himself for anger, for shouting, especially after everything Enrique had just said about Héctor being trustworthy, on the night that Héctor felt the most irresponsible in his life.

“Well, at least you got something that looks half decent,” Enrique said, reaching across the table to tip Héctor’s arm back and forth, inspecting the design under the cling wrap. “You’ve cursed yourself to a life of long-sleeve shirts at work though, you know that right?”

Héctor actually hadn’t quite thought about that, but nodding seemed like the right thing to do at that point.

“Like I said, you’re at a crossroads Héctor.” Enrique said, letting go of his arm. “It’s time for you to start thinking about where you’re heading and whether or not you want to end up there. That’s something only you can control.”

_He’ll figure out which path is best for himself._

Héctor could hear Tia Victoria’s words in his mind again, the words he’d overhead when she’d been talking with Tia Elena a couple months ago.

“Thanks for…not freaking out.” Héctor said as Enrique turned to walk out of the kitchen.

“You’re a smart kid Héctor,” Enrique said, pausing in the doorway. “You’ll do great in whatever you decide to do. I know you’ll especially make a great godfather if you want.” Enrique glanced at his arm again. “And don’t forget to keep that tattoo clean while it’s healing, you don’t want it to get infected and ruin it.”

“Sí, I will.” Héctor said.

Enrique nodded and walked out of the room, leaving Héctor alone at the kitchen table with only his new tattoo and a head full of thoughts for company.

He looked at his forearm, the skin red and irritated under its wrapper. There was some blood building up at the edges too, something the artist had assured him was normal, but still made him queasy to look at.

Héctor knew it was his fault that Ernesto had gotten mad, but being abandoned by him tonight hurt a lot more than an already regretted tattoo.

Tia Elena was always getting after him for spending so much time with Ernesto. At least over the last few years when they’d started doing more, uh, exciting things. Héctor knew Ernesto sometimes wasn’t the greatest influence, but it was hard to admit that when he felt like he had to defend Ernesto to his family.

At this moment, however, Héctor couldn’t think of a single excuse to try and cover why tonight had been a good idea. Héctor grimaced, letting out a small whine as he leaned his head forward to rest on the table beside his arm.

College was going to be hard. Not because he didn’t like school, he’d actually thought about how cool it would be to become a teacher (something he’d never mentioned to Ernesto.) But it was hard to get excited about the thought of leaving behind everyone he cared about for four years, especially when he and Ernesto had already made such big plans that would have to be put on hold.

Héctor tipped his head to the side so he could see the guitar tattoo, the skull head of the design grinning at him.

Not that he and Ernesto had been on good terms lately.

Maybe…  

Maybe it was time for Héctor to make a choice of his own.

Especially if he was going to be a _godfather_  someday.

Héctor smiled at the thought of Quique being a father, of him having a little kid with his eyes or Luisa’s nose. One one hand, any kid those two had was going to be adorable, on the other the thought of Quique being a parent made Héctor feel a little dizzy. If his primo had grown up, it seemed like pretty concrete evidence that Héctor would too.

And if Héctor was going to be a godfather, he had to be ready to take care of a kid. That was going to require college.

Héctor groaned, closing his eyes, already thinking of application essays and earning tuition and finding an apartment and most of all, somehow getting Ernesto not to hate him.

Héctor forced himself to stand. He’d figure it all out in the morning. He’d clean his tattoo, give Ernesto a call, and drag out the rest of those college applications he still had in his room somewhere.

So far being eighteen had sucked pretty bad. But maybe Héctor could make sure the rest of the year was a good one.

Even if it meant Ernesto might be mad at him for a couple weeks.

 

 

_–Eight Months Later–_

 

 

It was raining.

And of course it was raining. There was no chance that the overwhelming and cold emptiness Héctor felt inside could not have escaped and taken over the entire sky. Everything light or warm was shrouded a thick swath of chill grey clouds.

The cold rain ran down Héctor’s nose, trickled down the back of his neck and under his collar.

It was turning the ground into a thin mud that Tia Victoria’s pallbearers had to cautiously pick their way through as they entered the Santa Cecilia cemetery with her casket on their shoulders.

Tia Victoria would have wanted it this way, Héctor couldn’t help thinking. Let everyone be reminded as sternly as possible that she really had died, not to try and sugarcoat it with sunny skies.

Héctor stood absolutely still at the graveside as a priest read whatever was supposed to be read. He didn’t move as the small crowd of family and friends said and sang whatever was supposed to be said and sung.

He watched them move the huge flower display off the casket, leaving a handful of loose red and yellow petals painted flat against the dark wood by the rain.

He watched as they lowered it into the hole in the ground, as the petals on the dark wood were covered over by the flowers everyone threw into the grave. Didn’t say a word as people patted him on the shoulder as they all started to head back to the house for pan dulce and coffee. It would be a half-somber evening of condolences and whispered worries about those who would be the most heavily affected by the loss.

It was always the same whenever someone left Héctor. The same words and the same hidden glances and the same half-meant offers of help and the same empty feeling once they all went back to their own lives.

And Héctor didn’t want any of that.

Héctor wanted Tia Victoria.

He stared down at the flower-covered box in the bottom of the grave as everyone left. Even the priest eventually nodded to him with an understanding look before heading off too, leaving Héctor alone.

Because everyone always left eventually.

Héctor’s hands shook ever so slightly in his jacket pockets. Everyone always told him how emotional he was, but they never seemed to realize how much pain he could hide. With no one around who wanted to hear it, he’d learned to fold it down, tuck it away, cover it up with a smile and a joke, or even with hope sometimes when it hurt the most.

But not this time. This time was different. Héctor had never known his father and had barely known his mother before she’d left. Which in hindsight had softened the blow of her empty-promise-letters. Ernesto leaving had hurt the most, but Héctor knew that was his fault, that he’d been the one to ruin things perhaps forever between them, something that tore at him every day.

Tia Victoria was different though. They’d known she was sick, but her death had been so much sooner than they’d thought. This time she hadn’t been an abstract relation or even a mistake he could bury himself in guilt for. This time it was just the unfairness of the universe, bearing down on him as he stood alone, feeling so much heavier than he could handle.

And he had to somehow fold up that pain and hide it away too. No one was going to do it for him.

Héctor didn’t have any tears to wipe away when he heard splashing footsteps approaching from behind. Tia Victoria would have snapped at him if she’d seen him crying, it had been one of the last things she’d told him. He had to keep it together for her sake.

“You’re going to get pneumonia.”

Héctor felt like he’d been punched in the gut at the sound of a voice he hadn’t heard in months. He turned to see Ernesto standing behind him, eyebrow raised and holding a white umbrella.

“Ernesto.” Héctor said, his hands shaking even worse as he took them out of his pockets. “Y-you’re here.”

Months of unanswered calls, of unresponded texts, of ignored letters. It had been months since Héctor had heard from Ernesto, he’d started to think that maybe he really had lost him forever.

But now he was here.

He had come back.

“Of course I’m here, Teto.” Ernesto said, he held out his free hand, offering Héctor a one-armed hug.

Something painful and jagged come loose inside of Héctor. He couldn’t remember the last time Ernesto had actually _offered_  him physical affection, and he could feel the careful emotional facade he’d built for the funeral crumbling down.

Héctor hadn’t cried at Tia Victoria’s bedside, hadn’t shed a single tear during the entire funeral, but a small sob escaped him as he ducked into his friend’s offered hug like it was the last lifeboat on a sinking ship.

Ernesto knew Héctor  _hated_ being called Teto, the old pet name his mother had given him, but that didn’t matter, not now.

Because Ernesto had come back.

No one had ever come back before.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything.” Héctor said miserably, trying to keep from completely collapsing against Ernesto’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I messed up.”

“Estas bien, estas bien, we all make mistakes.” Ernesto said, holding him tight, “We’ve got to stick together. You can’t do this on your own Héctor, it’s tearing you apart.”

“I-I know.” Héctor said. The pain of being cut off by his best friend, of Tia Victoria’s death, of how undeniably miserable college had been at times, it was all mixing up inside him at once and it hurt so badly. “I don’t know what to do Ernesto.”

“It’s not too late to drop out,” Ernesto said, “you’d come live with me. Everything would be on track again.”

“I can’t.” Héctor flinched as he felt Ernesto go stiff. “I mean, I’ve already promised everyone, I’ve got scholarships and everything lined up.”

There was a long pause that yanked at Héctor’s gut. He’d said something wrong again, he shouldn’t have brought up college yet. Maybe he could take a semester off? That would be drastic, but it could keep Ernesto from cutting him off again. Maybe if-

“Well, I guess we can make that work.” Ernesto sighed, letting Héctor out of the hug.

“Muchas gracias,” Héctor said, feeling the pain in his gut release. He gratefully stood under the umbrella as Ernesto raised it higher to cover him. “I can still write songs though, I can help you behind the scenes until I graduate.”

“It’s you I’m worried about,” Ernesto put a hand on his shoulder. “it looks like university has been killing you, I warned you.”

Probably because my best friend wouldn’t talk to me. Is what Héctor wanted to say, but he bit it back. He knew it was his fault that Ernesto had been hurt, and besides, Ernesto wouldn’t have come back if he didn’t care.

“I’m okay.” Héctor said, scrubbing away a stray tear with the palm of his hand. Ernesto hated it when he got sappy. “Everyone’s counting on me to finish my degree. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I think I’ll be the one that decides that.” Ernesto said, looking at Héctor like he was a guitar string that wouldn’t tune right. “We’ll figure this out later, for now we need to get you out of this rain before my favorite song-writer dies of overexposure. And…I’m really sorry about your tia, I know you two were close.”

“Gracias.” Héctor choked a little, but grit his teeth as he forced the feelings back, pushing them down. He had to prove he was worth Ernesto’s time, worth coming back for.

“So do you really want to go to the open house?” Ernesto asked, turning to lead the way out of the cemetery. “You look like you’d rather have a drink instead. My treat.”

Héctor bit his lip as he obediently followed his best friend down the muddy path. Tia Elena would be expecting him, but on the other hand, he really had been dreading the open house all week. It was going to be loud and full of people Tia Victoria didn’t even like, all pretending they knew her well in life and eating the free funeral food.

Héctor glanced back at Tia Victoria’s grave one last time.

It would be so much easier to run away.

“I think I’ll take that drink.” Héctor said quietly.

Ernesto smiled and threw an arm around his shoulders, getting a small smile from Héctor as they walked out the cemetery gates.

“That’s what I like to hear.” Ernesto said happily, “Don’t worry, we’ll get you fixed up in no time.”

“Thank you for…” Héctor started.

Not abandoning him? Giving him an escape? Making him feel like maybe he was worth coming back for after all?

“Everything.” Héctor decided.

“I’ll always be here for you Teto,” Ernesto smiled, ruffling his hair, “I’d move heaven and earth for you, amigo.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! 
> 
> Quick note, in this chapter Ernesto is displaying many (if not all) of the signs of an unhealthy relationship. We’ve all seen or been in an unhealthy relationship before, whether they are toxic friendships or unhealthy romantic relationships. 
> 
> The biggest problem with toxic relationships, whether platonic or romantic, is that the victims don’t realize how bad they actually have it until it continues to escalate and something truly tragic happens. (As seen in the Coco movie to a drastic degree.)
> 
> On a serious note, if anyone reading this fic starts to recognize a little too much of Ernesto’s behavior in a friendship or relationship of their own (or in that of a loved one) I would recommend checking out the One Love Foundation. They have excellent content that teaches what real love/friendships look like, what they do NOT look like, and how to fix it.
> 
> While Ernesto and Hector’s relationship in this fic is strictly platonic, a brotherly friendship, it’s very important to recognize that the kind of controlling behavior that Ernesto is exerting over Hector is very real, very common, and not acceptable. 
> 
> \- Wit
> 
> https://www.joinonelove.org/learn/


End file.
